The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had threatened to stop the release of Chennai Express if Marathi films already running in theatres were removed to make way for it

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday waved the green flag for the hassle-free release of Shahrukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer Chennai Express in Maharashtra. The development came a day after the Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena (film wing) threatened to disrupt and stop its release August 8 as it reportedly attempted to dislodge ongoing popular Marathi movies from single-sreen cinemas in the state.

The party was upset with reports that the Rohit Shetty-directed movie had demanded prime slots in single screen cinemas and even some multiplexes in the state where the superhit Marathi movie Duniyadari has been running to packed houses since July 19.

On Thursday afternoon, Shetty, and Duniyadari director Sanjay Jadhav and others called on Thackeray to hammer out a solution. After listening to both parties, Thackeray ruled that if Duniyadari was not yanked off single-screen cinemas across the state, then the MNS would not object to the release and run of Chennai Express in Maharashtra.

After both parties agreed to this suggestion, the decks have been cleared for Chennai Express release in the city and the state.

Adopting an aggressive stance Wednesday, MNS Chitrapat Sena chief Amey Khopkar had threatened to bar Chennai Express if it was released at the expense of Duniyadari or any other Marathi movies, especially in single-screen cinemas. He also wrote to the owners of all single screen theatres seeking a commitment from them that they would not rip off Marathi films for giving a prime time platform to Chennai Express.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same title by the late Suhas Shirwalkar, Duniyadari has been a major commercial success with critical acclaim, earning a record Rs 5 crore since its release. It stars Swapnil Joshi and Urmila Kanitkar in the lead roles and tells the story of a modern affluent youngster’s journey and it has gone down well with the Marathi film lovers.